Is Kogan's Agora not compatible with the 850 3G network?

Online customer reports and PC World's own testing indicate that Australian online retailer Kogan appears to be selling an Android smartphone that isn't compatible with the 850MHz 3G network in Australia, despite being advertised as such.

Online customer reports and PC World's own testing indicate that Australian online retailer Kogan appears to be selling an Android smartphone that isn't compatible with the 850MHz 3G network in Australia, despite being advertised as such.

Despite Kogan's insistence that the Agora is technically capable of supporting the 850MHz network, a number of users online have reported that phone does not operate on this band. The band is used by both Telstra and Vodafone in Australia.

PC World Australia can confirm that our review unit of the Kogan Agora is incapable of connecting to 850MHz network towers.

Our review device happily connects to 2100MHz network towers using the Telstra network in the North Sydney area to provide 3G service. However, when travelling away from the city the phone can only pick up a 2G, EDGE signal.

The fastest data speeds we managed when away from the city area was a meagre 0.18 megabits per second (Mbps) download and just 0.04Mbps upload.

The specifications listing for the Agora on Kogan's website, which shows 850MHz 3G compatibility.

Telstra's Next G network operates on the 850Mhz frequency though heavily congested areas, usually ones close to CBD locations, use 2100Mhz towers to provide extra capacity.

Vodafone operates primarily on the 850MHz frequency for major metropolitan locations, but it also uses the 900MHz frequency in regional areas of Australia and the 2100MHz frequency in smaller, urban areas.